Ed Miliband: 'We were wrong, we do need to cut low-skilled immigration'

Wednesday 6 March 2013 07:56 BST

Miliband: last Labour government didn't do enough for ordinary people (Photo: REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett) REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett

Ed Miliband will today unveil Labour's "new approach" to immigration, acknowledging that Britain needs to reduce the numbers of low-skilled migrants coming to the country to work.

In a party political broadcast, Mr Miliband will admit Labour got the issue wrong while in power and should not have dismissed the concerns raised by ordinary people about immigration.

The Labour leader will insist that diversity is "good for Britain", but will say that migration needs to work for all of the country's people and not just some.

He will outline measures including tougher enforcement of the minimum wage and tighter controls on employment agencies to stop migrant workers being brought in from overseas to undercut homegrown staff.

The broadcast - to be shown on TV channels in England this evening - comes ahead of a major speech by shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper tomorrow, in which she is expected to set out a raft of new policies.

These include more prosecutions and higher fines for paying less than the minimum wage, as well measures to tackle "gangmasters" employing illegal migrants in the social care, hospitality and construction industries - including a ban on housing workers in over-crowded accommodation.

Ms Cooper is also expected to detail proposed reforms of the immigration system and action to improve the training of UK workers so they can fill jobs in shortage occupations.

Aides said Labour's "long thought-through" approach contrasted with the "kite-flying" of Government ministers, who have floated a range of possible initiatives over the past few days to limit Romanian and Bulgarian immigration when the countries' nationals gain full freedom of access to the UK at the end of the year.

Labour argues that policies must address the key "pull-factor" for low-skilled migrants, which is the availability of work in the UK.

In today's broadcast, Mr Miliband will say: "One of the things I've done since I became the leader of the Labour Party is understand where we got things wrong in government, and change them.

"And one of the things we didn't get right was immigration, and that's why I've got a new approach. Millions of people in this country are concerned about immigration and if people are concerned about it, then the Labour Party I lead is going to be talking about it."

He will add: "Britain's diversity is a source of our great strength. It makes us a more successful country.

"But people can lose out if migration isn't properly managed. The pace of change can be too fast or people can see their wages undercut.

"Low-skill migration has been too high and we need to bring it down.

"That means the maximum transitional controls for new countries coming in from eastern Europe; it means properly enforcing the minimum wage so people aren't brought here to undercut workers already here; and it means let's give proper training to workers already here so that they have a fighting chance of filling the vacancies that exist.

"There's nothing wrong in employing people from abroad, but the rules need to be fair so that local people get a fair crack of the whip."

Mr Miliband will promise a boost to English language teaching to new migrants, along with an English-speaking requirement for all state employees working face-to-face with the public.

He will repeat a pledge to ban employment agencies from recruiting exclusively from overseas without trying to take on workers locally.

"I believe that diversity is good for Britain," Mr Miliband will say. "But it's got to be made to work for all and not just for some. And that means everybody taking responsibility, everybody playing their part and contributing to the country.

"That is what One Nation is all about, and that's the Britain I want to build."